


Mama

by sneetchstar



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, One Shot, with a dollop of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 02:12:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10233374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sneetchstar/pseuds/sneetchstar
Summary: Carl helps his baby sister work on her words, resulting in the revelation of a secret too long kept.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Siancore](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siancore/gifts).



“Dada,” Carl prompts, sitting on the porch with Judith in his lap. His baby sister is alternating between listening to him, reaching for his hat, and playing with a stuffed rabbit Tara gave her. They can see Rick and Michonne walking down the street, coming towards them. “Dada,” he repeats.

“Dadadadadadada,” Judith babbles.

Carl laughs. “Dada,” he says. “Only two.”

“Dadada.”

“Closer,” he sighs. Then he points to himself. “Carl.”

“Cah.” She reaches up and pats his left cheek, the side with the eye.

He absently wonders if she even remembers what he looked like with both eyes. “Yes, Carl,” he says, smiling. “Brother.”

“Bruv.”

He kisses her forehead, then turns her back towards the street so she can see out again. “Mich…” He stops himself. “Mama.” He points. _Why not?_

“Dadadada,” Judith says.

“Yes, that’s Dada, too. But who’s that with him?” Carl asks. Judith reaches her hands out towards Michonne, opening and closing her chubby little fists. “Mama,” he urges.

xXx

“Did you have any trouble with Judith today?” Rick asks at dinner. His daughter has been a bit fussy lately, teething again and on the cusp of walking.

“No trouble at all,” Carl says. “She bit my finger, but she didn’t mean to. I gave her that plastic ring thing from the freezer.”

“Are you all right?” Michonne asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Didn’t break the skin or anything,” he answers with a shrug. “We… we worked on some things.”

“Oh, you did?” Rick asks, his eyebrows raising in amusement, wondering what his teenage son and infant daughter could have possibly been working on together.

“Judith,” Carl says. “Who’s that?” He points to Rick.

“Dadadada,” Judith says, and Rick laughs in delight.

“Only two,” Carl reminds her. “Dada.”

“Carl, she’s not—”

“Dada.”

“There you go!” Carl triumphantly declares, and Rick leans over and kisses Judith’s curly blonde head.

“That’s great, Carl,” Michonne says, smiling fondly at them.

“Who am I?” Carl asks, patting his chest.

“Cah.” Judith reaches out with a small hand, stained orange with spaghetti sauce.

Carl looks at the hand, picks up his napkin, and wipes it off. Then he kisses it. He is just trying to decide if he is brave enough to prompt Judith to identify Michonne, when his sister beats him to it.

“Mama,” she says, looking straight at Michonne, pointing her spoon across the table.

Silence reigns for about five seconds.

Then Carl bravely says, “Very good, Judith,” and smiles at his sister. He’s not brave enough to look at Michonne.

“Is… that okay with you?” Rick softly asks. Carl finally looks and sees that Michonne’s eyes are shining with unshed tears.

“I… I’m sor—”

“It’s all right,” Michonne says, reaching out and putting her hand over Carl’s. “I was just surprised is all.”

“I hoped it was… I mean I know…”

“No one has called me ‘Mama’ since…”

“Andre, I know. But since our re— I mean, our _biological_ mom is long gone, and, you and Dad are… and, well, that’s kind of how I think of you, so…” Carl rambles, poking at his plate.

Rick watches their interaction, a little confused, but chooses to stay silent.

Michonne leans over, reaching out with one arm to hug Carl. She kisses his forehead and whispers, “I understand. Thank you.” She gives him one more squeeze, then releases him and dabs her eyes with her napkin.

“Mama?”

“I’m okay, Baby,” Michonne says to Judith, giving her a smile. It’s quiet for another few seconds, then she turns to Rick. “I… I haven’t had a chance to tell you about Andre,” she quietly says.

“I think we’ll just…” Carl says, standing and plucking his sister out of her high chair.

“Give her a bath, please,” Michonne says. “She’s covered in sauce.”

“Yeah,” Carl agrees, holding Judith out so she doesn’t get him dirty. “Come on, you.”

Once he is gone, Rick reaches out and takes Michonne’s hand. “You had a son.”

Michonne nods. “He was three when he…” she trails off, shaking her head. “He and his father both.”

“I’m so sorry,” he says, scooting his chair closer so he can wrap her in a hug. “I had no idea,” he says. “Well, I had an inkling, because you’re so good with Judith… and with Carl, but… I didn’t know how to ask.”

“I didn’t know how to tell you,” she admits, easing out of his embrace. She reaches out and places her palm on his cheek. “Carl has known since… since before Alexandria. I thought he might have told you.”

Rick shakes his head, then kisses her palm. “He wouldn’t. Not if you told him in confidence. I’m… I’m not upset,” he says. “You were closer to him first,” he chuckles.

“He’s a good kid. A _great_ kid,” Michonne says, dropping her hand from his face. She takes his hand. “And I wanted to tell you, but there just hasn’t been an opportunity.”

“Yeah,” he agrees. “It’s not an easy thing to just bring up, either. I don’t exactly talk about Lori very much, do I?”

“No, but that’s different, because I knew her,” Michonne says.

He tilts his head in acknowledgment. “Yeah, you, Daryl, Sasha, Maggie… Carol… you all knew her. But Aaron? Tara? Gabriel? Rosita?” He shakes his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever so much as said her name in their presence. No one likes to relive their pain.”

“It almost broke me,” Michonne admits, looking down. “The person I was when you met me… I was not myself anymore, not yet.”

Rick huffs a humorless laugh. “Neither was I.”

She squeezes his hand. “Would you like to hear what happened?” she asks.

“Only if you want to tell me. You don’t have to,” he answers.

After a beat, she says, “I want to.”

**Author's Note:**

> Definitely not my first fic, but my first Walking Dead fic!


End file.
